Perth captain Sophie Devine smashed 40 runs and grabbed four wickets in the Scorchers' comfortable 30-run WBBL win against the Melbourne Renegades.
Match Report:
ScorecardDevine masterclass inspires Scorchers to down Renegades
A devastating all-round performance from captain Sophie Devine has powered the Perth Scorchers to a crucial 30-run smashing of the Melbourne Renegades.
After top-scoring with a breezy 40 in the Scorchers' 5-184, Devine backed it up with the ball by snaring 4-25 as the Renegades limped to 9-154.
The Renegades' chase started in horrible fashion at 2-2, then 4-34, ensuring they were already out of contention and Perth would celebrate in front of their home crowd at the WACA ground.
To win, the reigning champions would have needed to pull off the equal third-highest run chase in tournament history.
After the early carnage, wicketkeeper Nicole Faltum (28) and Georgia Wareham (43) attempted to steady the Renegades. But their 55-run stand ended as Faltum and Wareham both fell to star Scorchers spinner Alana King (2-29).
Devine, who recently ended her glorious ODI career for New Zealand, showed she is still a major weapon in T20s 19 years after making her international debut.
It was the 36-year-old's second fourth-wicket haul in the WBBL, falling short of her best figures (5-41).
Earlier, Devine combined for a 69-run stand with Maddy Darke (36) to put the pressure on the Renegades' stacked bowling attack.
The result led to the Scorchers jumping from sixth into third on the ladder, with just one match remaining.
The Renegades slumped to 4-5 and dropped outside of the top-four.
If they are to be any chance of backing up last year's title triumph, the Renegades will need to defeat the in-form Sydney Sixers in their final match of the tournament on Friday.
The Scorchers should be able to book a finals spot, with their last match against the struggling Brisbane Heat back in Perth on Saturday night.
Weber WBBL|11 Standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
HUR
|
9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.662 | 0 | 14 |
|
2
STA
|
9 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.863 | 0 | 11 |
|
3
SIX
|
8 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | -0.157 | 0 | 11 |
|
4
SCO
|
9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | -0.189 | 0 | 10 |
|
5
STR
|
8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0.097 | 0 | 8 |
|
6
REN
|
9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.067 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
THU
|
9 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | -0.296 | 0 | 7 |
|
8
HEA
|
9 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | -0.944 | 0 | 1 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points